California Blossoms
by LoveWastedInYouth
Summary: Ehh, just read it. You'll be glad you did.


They weren't in love. The sunken lullabies of old memories sent them reeling with nostalgia, feelings flying everywhere but not toward each other. The town, the old town that gave them nothing memorable to remember it by, was a world away. Time would fly by and send its goodbyes to sail the deep blue eyes that Axel would never see again. He wasn't in love. But a life without Roxas was a life he wouldn't live.

They met when they were fifteen; Axel had been at his dad's house in California for a funeral when he spotted Roxas climbing down a tree because his kite had gone too up high and got stuck in the branches. If it weren't for Axel that day, Roxas might've fell to his death. After all, Axel always did have strong arms and a body of steel.

Axel's flaming red hair was intolerable. Everyone thought so. "It's natural," he'd say, but he wasn't fooling anyone. Hair that bright only spelt trouble, and trouble was the one word Californians feared most. He refused to dye it black, even at Roxas and his father's request. "Then I'd be normal." Was his one and only comment. After awhile, everyone gave up and let him do what he wanted. He was only there for a month or so. How much trouble could hair that bright and eyes that lively cause?

Roxas didn't like Axel. To Roxas, Axel was too loud, obnoxious, bright (referencing Axel's hair; he hated Axel's hair), and noisy. They didn't share the same interests, and they were two different people. Roxas was the guy who was quiet and observant, never meddling in anyone else's affairs unless it had something to do with him. As for Axel, he was quite the opposite. He was loud and rude, always saying the first thing that came to mind and never thought twice of it. He never regretted anything, either.

So maybe Roxas was a little jealous. Having been raised in a household where conservative thoughts were to be kept locked away really took a toll on him. It was only him and a father that never put much thought into anything, just went with the flow of the world and followed the people with higher authority, never blinking an eye to anything that was biased or generally wrong. Roxas was to follow in his fathers giant steps that didn't leave any signature worth holding on to, and he hated that. He was jealous of Axel's freedom and carefree smile he held everywhere he went. He was jealous and he hated Axel for having a right he didn't have.

A month went by quickly. The Malibu beach was the one thing they held in common, and the one thing able to keep the invisible strings tied tightly onto the other. They'd spent everyday of July at the beach, splashing the other with summer's soothing waves and daring to drown the other but never holding on to that promise. They were at the prime of their lives and as much as Roxas hated to admit, he was having fun with Axel and wished for nothing more than for Axel to never leave. But forever never lasted and before he knew it, time had swept them off their feet and sent Axel back home.

"I'll be back," Axel saluted Roxas goodbye with his free hand and packed his summer bag in the taxi that hauled him off to the train station that would be his ride back to Oklahoma. Roxas knew Axel promised he'd be back, even if he never said a thing. It was the twinkle in his eye when he looked at Roxas one final time that gave it away. It made Roxas' head hurt to know he'd have to put up with the same Axel that had too many different sides to him. The loud mouth, rude, inconsiderate boy with the flaming red hair and eyes that promised protection was the same boy who saved him from near death just less than a month ago because he'd lost his footing on a branch from climbing down a tree. He could only relish at the thought of Axel coming back with a broken limb because he'd saved someone else from something that would've surely killed them. Roxas stared down the road one last time before shutting the door on a past that would catch him in no time.

Holding onto a silent promise, Axel showed up again one year later in the same taxi that had seen him safety to his trip back home. The flaming red hair only seemed brighter than before, staring down the glaring sun and becoming its own light. His green eyes showed a world in them, promised something much more than a life Roxas knew he'd never have. The butterflies kicked in his stomach when he opened the door and there stood a tall boy with a smirk on his face and new tattoos just below his eyes. He was more than joyful to see Axel standing there, but he'd never admit so.

"I'm staying the whole summer here." Axel blurted out as they ran to the beach in only their too tight trunks and oversized sandals. Roxas only sighed but inside him he could hardly breathe. He would never admit it, but Axel was his only friend. Roxas' father never approved of Axel because he seemed like one of the druggies you'd find hanging around the alley's late at night ten years from now because their future was based on the alcohol and cigarettes they smoked now. As long as he's still alive ten years from now, I'm okay with that, was Roxas' reply to his father. The subject ended and they didn't touch it again.

Everyday for the rest of the summer, their lives were spent wasting away at the beach, relishing in the waves glory and dwelling in their childhood before it would be washed away and replaced with nine to five jobs that they hated but stayed anyway to pay the bills. But they didn't think of the near future that would claim their innocence and bliss ignorance. It was all about now, their secret motto. Enjoy now, worry later.

But one afternoon when they were laying around Axel's dad's house alone because it was too hot to move, Roxas started to think. They had two more summer's left until they'd become one with the adult world, moving in slow motion and having to adapt before they got left behind. Roxas didn't know what he wanted to do then, even though his father already filled in a position for him at his run-down office in Oxnard. It was a crap job, and Roxas would rather run away with Axel than be forced to work the phone and answer boring calls for money he wouldn't be receiving. Roxas mentally scoffed at the thought.

"Axel," Roxas called out. A large bundle shaped the chair across from Roxas and moved at Roxas' voice. Axel lifted his head from upside down and turned to look at Roxas. His emerald green eyes looked dull and lifeless compared to how they looked a week before. It was only mid-July and already kids everywhere were slowly dying because the summer had drained the of all their energy from just the week before. Axel let out a gurgling noise in an attempt to say "what". Roxas didn't let him try to correct himself.

"Why did you come here?" Roxas abandoned his thoughts of his future and focused more on Axel and how he came to be Roxas' top priority. Just a year ago, he hadn't even known the boy that came for his aunts' funeral and stayed a month because he had come to enjoy California's atmosphere. Now they were practically best friends that were more closer than saltwater. Absolutely nothing in common, which Roxas based most friendships on because he hated awkwardness, but yet he called Axel his one and only true friend. Roxas waited patiently for a reply.

"Because I like you." Axel was now staring into Roxas' eyes. He could almost see an ocean in them. An ocean that could take you anywhere you wanted to be. All you had to do was say the word and you'd be where you most wanted to be. It was a beautiful color that fit Roxas perfectly. Axel never fancied such thoughts of Roxas. They were demeaning and downright disrespectful. But as he dwelled more on the thoughts of being the one Roxas could call home, he found he didn't so much as care about them anymore. He wasn't in love with Roxas because, what was love? What was the point in love? He didn't know. He didn't want to know. He could only hold happiness in the knowledge that he'd met Roxas for a reason and for whatever reason that was, he probably would never know.

Roxas scoffed and closed his eyes, imagining traveling far away from California. He'd always liked trains. The speed at which they traveled, as if they were running away from something they were scared of. They went places. And places other than California were beautiful. He knew because he'd seen England and it was just as gorgeous as people proclaimed it to be. Roxas imagined starting a life in England and becoming anybody he couldn't become in California. It was a dead state, with no hope for anything wonderful to happen. He'd leave everything behind in a heartbeat if he had the chance.

Time went on and just as soon as it came, it was gone. Roxas and Axel were now eighteen, visiting each other for the last time because God knew where the wind would take the two. Since three years ago, their bond as friends had grown into something stronger, more stable. They had set their foundation and had built on top of it, turning something rough and ugly into something more beautiful and lovely. This was the last summer they could come to each other as teens before becoming adults, leaving a world of happiness behind. This would be the last time they'd ever see each other.

"I'm moving to England." Axel twisted his head to Roxas as fast as he could, his eyes wide with horror. Roxas avoided eye contact, keeping his gaze focused on the melting sea salt ice cream Axel introduced to him two summer's ago. He'd taken one bite out of it before spitting it out and throwing it away. It was too salty, he'd said to Axel after he saw Axel's look of sheer horror. Roxas felt bad and promised to eat every single sea salt ice cream Axel bought for him after that.

"England? Why?" Axel was yelling now, his new profound strength coming like a hurricane. He stood up and walked over to Roxas, his steps like huge rocks coming down fiercely from a landslide. Roxas still refused to stare at him but instead took a small bite out of the ice cream, trying to pass the time. He was under pressure and it was becoming too much.

"It's beautiful there." Roxas was now staring Axel in the eyes, ocean blue against emerald green. Roxas could see the hurt and anger in Axel's eyes, radiating off of him like a scent you only smelled during special events because it was so rare and beautiful. He couldn't turn away from Axel; their eyes were locked on the other's and it was truly heartbreaking. Axel was the first to break the eye contact.

"Do what you want." Axel turned around and headed out the door of his fathers house, leaving behind a boy with golden blonde hair that was now confused and lost than he'd ever been in his life. He didn't chase after Axel. He let him be. He stared out of the only window that had a full view of Malibu and wished upon a star that things could've been different. That he'd never met Axel so these new feelings wouldn't exist. But you couldn't chase out a bad dream with pretense. It was impossible.

Day turned into night, and the months went by. Axel went home days earlier than he used to. Roxas didn't stop him, only waved a somber goodbye and closed the door on a past that would come back to haunt him. He couldn't help but feel as if he'd lost something dear to him. He walked into his room and began packing for a move he'd be sure to never regret.

Two months flew by and it was October, the month he'd leave behind his old self and start over as a new person, burying everything he wouldn't need ever again. Axel had promised to see him off before he left, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Roxas' father was angry and begged him to stay everyday he was still in town. It was only when Roxas shut the door to his room and blasted his music that he could release all his anger out into the world and wish nothing was complicated.

The day before Roxas left, Axel came to see him. Roxas could feel every ounce of his being drenched in happiness and relief, grateful that Axel had come to see him off before he left. He welcomed Axel with a hug and refused to let go until they both were tired from standing. Axel's smile never left as Roxas led him into the house and closed the door.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Axel asked. Roxas sipped a cup of tea he'd brewed just an hour earlier. He set the teacup down and nodded, watching Axel carefully. They'd been sitting there for hours, just talking about nothing important and filling each other in on the two months gap of events they'd both experienced. Axel was too anxious to notice Roxas sit up and scribble something down on a paper lying around.

"My address." Roxas slipped the paper to Axel and waited until he grabbed it and read it. Axel looked up to a smiling Roxas, nostalgia of everything running back. How could he let his best friend just slip through his hands? He wasn't in love with Roxas. But there were pushed down feelings residing somewhere deep down inside him. He wanted to travel the world with Roxas, be there with him everywhere he went. It was scary to know in just a day their worlds would be ripped apart and they'd be forced to start all over, having to face challenges alone and know they weren't just a couple states away, but a country away. He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that.

"I'm going with you." Roxas snapped his head up, his smile faded and replaced with a frown. Axel set his gaze on Roxas, fueled by determination to never separate from Roxas. They weren't teens anymore, a sad truth they both hated to recognize. They could pretend as much as they'd like that they were still two teens fighting against the world, but pretending like that only would get them left behind. Tomorrow they'd be branded as adults, with Roxas moving to one country alone and Axel staying behind, forced to grow up and make decisions he couldn't wait years from now to make. Roxas mouth twisted into a smile at the thought of Axel coming with him.

"That'd be great." Roxas grinned wide, baring blinding white teeth. Never had someone had such an impact on Roxas before Axel. Never had he allowed someone to become so physically and emotionally attached to him that he could actually see a future with them. It was petrifying and surreal, but he was more than sure things as wonderful as this only came once in a lifetime, and he'd be a complete idiot to let this all go down the drain.

They moved to England the following week and, with the new country's warm embrace, they became developed in their new lives and lived a fairytale that only existed in books and movies. They were finally happy.


End file.
